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| | Thursday, August 10 Bills: It's Johnson's job, for now | |||||||||||||||
| By Mark Cannizzaro Special to ESPN.com The only place to start with the 2000 Buffalo Bills is by looking at who's not with the team anymore.
The pressure unquestionably is on quarterback Rob Johnson. Is he the man to lead the Bills' back into Super Bowl contention? This is a question Phillips believes he knows the answer to -- otherwise he would never have made the stunning decision to bench Doug Flutie in last January's playoff loss to Tennessee. Key position battle We believe quarterback will continue to nag Phillips as an ongoing controversy. The people in Buffalo love Flutie, 37, because he has done nothing but win (17-8 as a starter the last two seasons). There'll be a lot of pressure on Johnson, 27. Flutie won nine games for Buffalo last season, but he ranked 24th in the NFL in passing efficiency, prompting Phillips to commit to Johnson, who has been knocked out of four of the 11 games he's played for Buffalo. Johnson must get off to a good start or they'll be clamoring for Flutie Flakes in Western New York. Biggest adjustment Where will Buffalo find its pass rush without Smith? Letting Thomas and Reed go was prudent; neither was producing much anymore. But Smith remains one of the best defensive ends in the game despite having played in the league for 15 years. Fourth-year veteran Marcellus Wiley is slated to take over Smith's spot at right end, but Wiley is fresh off back surgery and will have a late start to training camp. Rookie report Tying in with the Bills' biggest adjustment, as mentioned above, Buffalo drafted a pair of pass rushers -- Arizona State defensive end Erik Flowers in the first round and Virginia Tech's Corey Moore. Flowers had 10 sacks as a senior and could be an immediate factor in passing situations. Moore had 17 sacks in his senior year at Tech, actually breaking Smith's career sack record at the school. He is, however, only 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, and he's projected as an NFL linebacker. Second-rounder Traveres Tillman, a safety from Georgia Tech, could challenge for a starting spot as a rookie.
| ALSO SEE Colts: Taking the next step Dolphins: Diving into a new era Patriots: It's Belichick's team Jets: Plenty of room to Groh AUDIO/VIDEO   Peerless Price says the Bills are Rob Johnson's team.wav: 83 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Ruben Brown is excited about the Bills' QB situation.wav: 105 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Coach Wade Phillips likes what he sees in rookie running back Sammy Morris.wav: 80 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Doug Flutie describes his injury.wav: 244 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Wade Phillips doesn't expect to see Doug Flutie back until the regular season.wav: 65 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||||||||||||
